🍚 Hoshi Mochi(Dried rice cake)

It has long been a preserved food made during the extremely cold season to take advantage of the cold and humid climate. It is also called “Korimochi”, and made in the Tsugaru region, especially famous in Goshogawara City. In the past, frozen rice cakes that looked like a curtain hung from the eaves of houses were a midwinter tradition. The rice cakes are made by adding more water than usual, cutting them, tying them into long strips of straw. Then, dipping them in water on a cold day, hanging them outdoors to freeze, and finally air-drying them. The whole process takes about two months and is very time-consuming. In the old days, the entire community worked together to make them, and they taste best when made in February, the coldest month of the year.